Once the Annawan Bravettes settled into their surroundings Monday night at Illinois Valley Community College, it was game over.

The Bravettes fell in an early 8-4 hole, but rebounded to pummel once-beaten Newark 46-21 in the semifinals of the Class 1A IVCC Sectional.

"I knew that we would be sped up a little bit early and that we'd have to settle down," said Annawan coach Jason Burkiewicz.

The four-point deficit didn't last long as Celina VanHyfte scored six straight points to put the Bravettes on top 10-8, and Annawan's pressure defense started taking its toll on Newark.

Annawan led 12-8 at the quarter and continued its roll in the second frame. The Bravettes tallied 13 unanswered points to stretch the margin to 25-8 and complete a run of 21 straight points.

Newark managed just two points in the second quarter and struggled through a scoring drought of more than nine minutes as the Bravettes led 29-10 at the break.

"Not everyone can play a 1-3-1. They have the personnel to make it work," said Newark coach Dale Skelton. "When you don't play against it (1-3-1) on a consistent basis, you can't simulate it. You need to play against it to understand it."

"We count on that," said Burkiewicz of his team's defense. "It seems like all of our big games this year we've come up with a quarter where we keep a team to less than five points. Even though we weren't knocking down the shots we would've liked, we were able to suffocate them and create some breathing room for us."